The Excellence in Youth Coaching Education award is also known as the Dr. Thomas Fleck award. It is designed to honor a lifetime of dedication where one has led with integrity, honor, humor and humility and has made extensive and far reaching contributions to the process by which youth soccer coaches are educated in America.

Gary Allen has played a major role in the development of soccer in the United States and specifically, coaching education in Virginia. His early and consistent dedication to coaching education has made him a pioneer in the field. As one of the original staff instructors of the National Youth License, Allen was the second coaching education director for Virginia Youth Soccer and was instrumental in establishing the environment for Virginia to hire a technical director in the late 1990s.

Allen became the youngest coach in Virginia to attain the USSF "A" License, was Virginia's first US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program coach and one of the first two coaching education instructors in the state. Allen also holds a National Youth License. In addition to his on-field duties, Allen is an author of numerous articles.

As a committed coach, Allen has led teams of various levels, including Division I men's and women's programs, high school teams, as well as state and regional US Youth ODP teams. Over the years, Gary has coached 31 players who went on to be named NCAA All-Americans and 17 players who made the U.S. National Teams.

Allen currently serves as a senior staff instructor for the Virginia Youth Soccer Association coaching education program and a U.S. Soccer national staff instructor. Additionally, he was inducted into the Virginia Youth Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008. Over the past two decades, Allen has been instrumental in the development of coach education in Virginia.

Prior to his time as a coach, Allen led his Randolph-Macon College team to the Virginia College Athletics Championship in 1972. While still in college, he was named as an alternate to the U.S. Olympic soccer team.

About the United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer) – US Youth Soccer - "The Game for ALL Kids!®" is the largest youth sports organization in the country and largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body of soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer registers more than 3 million players annually, ages 5 to 19, and over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers in 55 member State Associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game. For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org.

​

Comments

* Denotes required field

*Name:

*City:

*State:

Comments:

We look forward to reviewing your comments!

Please input the text and numbers that you see above into the following box in order to post your comment.